Can you paint melamine kitchen cabinets

If you do want to apply Tough Coat to your cabinets and you are painting with a darker color, you may want to do a layer of paint, apply a thin layer of Touch Coat with a sponge or lint free pad then another layer of your paint. This will minimize streaks that sometimes occur with Tough Coat on dark Fusion colors.

While Fusion has a built-in top coat, we decided to add the Stain and Finishing Oil to give it that bit of extra protection , to create a durable, scratch resistant and waterproof finish. We do want to emphasize that like our Tough Coat , this is a personal preference for you to use on top of Fusion paint and it was created for those customers who just would prefer that something extra. So do not be intimidated or worried about painting a surface with a different material. I mean look at how great this looks!

Are you inspired now? Go out and update that old Ikea Kitchen now! As always, we love seeing your projects, so keep on sharing them in our Paint it Beautiful group!

Paint it beautiful. Share: As part of our kitchen cabinet painting series, we wanted to make sure we included a tutorial on how to paint melamine cabinets. Kitchen Cabinets with Fusion! Fusion Mineral Paint. This stunning buffet received a fresh makeover tha. Keep it simple, keep it classic. We just adore thi. This is what you can achieve when you mix Casement. How striking does this buffet look draped in our d. Thermofoil is the flexible plastic stuff that, somewhat irritatingly, sometimes peels off.

Regardless, both are a nightmare to paint. I approach them both in a similar way. Melamine and thermofoil are both plastics.

This is kind of a last resort project. Bare MDF is absorbent and easy for the paint to stick to. The key to painting melamine is achieving a good bond between the paint and the MFC panel. The best way to do this in the past has always been to use a good primer. The primer bonds to the MFC.

The top coat bonds to the primer. By the way for the top coat paint I would normally use a quick drying water-based satinwood paint. Primer is designed to bond to the surface and generally gives a better substrate for your top-coat paint to stick to. Bear in mind that if you just used a primer in step 4 then you should really apply an undercoat prior to your final two top coats.

Using a high density mini roller can give you a really neat finish. This takes a bit of practice but leaves a great finish when you get the hang of it.

Always bear in mind that the paint will never be as hard wearing as the original melamine — melamine is essentially plastic. The fine dust particulate that results from sanding down plastic can be dangerous to inhale. Tape off the work zone with plastic sheeting and open windows and use fans for ventilation of the paint fumes. Remove all items near the cabinets or counters to another area. Open the windows. If you can, set up a box fan , so it blows outward of one window.

You want to promote cross-ventilation throughout the work area. Place drop cloths on the flooring and tape contractor's paper or plastic on all surfaces that will not be coated. Confine the work area with plastic sheeting to prevent the sanding dust from traveling throughout the house. Protect yourself from sanding dust with a dust mask or respirator. Sand down the laminate or melamine surface with or grit sandpaper. Using a work light, frequently check you are removing the glossiness from the surface, giving you a matte or flat finish.

Do not sand down too hard, or you can risk damaging the thin wear layer of the laminate or melamine. Instead of this step, you can substitute sanding by applying a liquid deglosser or "liquid sandpaper" to the surface.

Wipe down the sanded surface with a tack cloth, using light pressure to prevent transferring the wax from the cloth to the surface. Follow by wiping down the surface with mineral spirits and clean, lint-free cloths. Let the surface dry completely. Skip this step if you opted for liquid deglossing. Apply a thin coat of paint or primer, if the paint you're using calls for it to the entire surface, using a paintbrush for the edges and tight spots and a roller with a high-density foam roller cover designed for smooth surfaces for the flat areas.

Take special care to maintain a wet edge while painting: Overlap the edge of each painted section with fresh primer or paint before the previously painted edge dries. Allow the first coat to dry for at least 6 hours or as recommended by the manufacturer.

During the initial drying process for any of the paint coats, do not use fans blowing air into the room. The fans will push airborne dust and debris onto the wet paint.

Ventilate with open windows but only if it's not too windy or drafty and turn fans facing the other way, sucking out the room's air and venting it outside.

Apply one or more additional coats of paint, using the same techniques. Let each coat dry as directed. If you are using standard enamel paint, the last one or two coats can be layers of clear acrylic sealer. It's not uncommon to apply as many as five coats in total: a primer coat to begin, then two coats of enamel paint, finishing with one or two coats of acrylic sealer.

In general, the odor from drying or curing coatings is strongest while the coating is still wet. If you open windows to ventilate, make sure the temperature and humidity levels in the work area stay within the manufacturer's recommended ranges.